Did I say how much fun I'm having here? Tomorrow will be one week that I've been here. It feels like I've lived here forever and like I just arrived yesterday.
I'm feeling very comfortable in the city. I love my neighborhood and have found some very nice routes to walk, places to eat, etc.
My classmates are great, and it has been so wonderful having Larry here to get me acquainted with the city (which he had pretty much done by the 2nd day I was here).
I also really like having to go to school every day. Soon, I hope to add tango classes and maybe something else to my routine (though I have to say blogging is keeping me really busy).
You knew this is coming... but...
my classes are not as ideal as I wish.
It seems that the idea that students would communicate in class, or that the focus would be communication, is a foreign concept to most foreign language teachers, including those here. Today, we met Fernanda. She seemed young and is perhaps inexperienced. Although she knew a lot about Spanish grammar, and the subjunctive, which unfortunately was the focus of her lesson, she didn't seem to get that we wanted to talk and not listen to grammar explanations. We tried our best to steer her away from her plan (Anna is very suave and skilled at this, whereas I tend to sit and doodle and Mike rolls his eyes), but she kept putting sentences on the board - things like "Even though I studied the subjunctive before, it still bores the shit out of me" - well, maybe that is not what she wrote, but that is what I was thinking. Then she'd write it several different ways and tell us that the difference was very subtle. Like we cared. We were more interested in hearing about the rich woman who was strangled in bed 6 months ago and the latest revelation that it might have been her son who killed her (and possibly raped her). But alas, after every diversion, we were steered back to some "even though" expressions.
At dinner Anna, Larry and I discussed this problem (Mike didn't join us because he had a better offer), and we are thinking that maybe we will try to say something to get the class to suit our desires a little more. After all, we are all teachers in the class, and I think we know what we want. What I know is I hope I will remember this experience the next time I start to go on about something I think is interesting. I think I'm pretty good at seeing when students eyes glaze over and including lots of variety in my class, but I will be even more vigilant now. If a teacher speaks more than the students do in any language class, there is something wrong. Why don't teachers get that?
After class, we all went to see a movie called "Cocalero", which was a documentary about the rise of Evo Morales, the first indigenous person to be elected president, in Bolivia. It was a very interesting film, and thank goodness had Spanish subtitles (or captions) which made it very easy to understand. It is very ironic that Morales became president under Bush - he is a socialist and his policies are definitely anti-US, anti-corporate, anti-imperialist and pro-people of Bolivia. In the past, someone like him would have not had a chance, but because Bush is so fixated on Iraq (and next Iran?), he didn't have the energy, resources (and perhaps brain power) to pay attention to what was happening in Bolivia. I doubt that Morales will be able to do much, but the symbolism of his win will have an effect on what happens in Latin America in the future.
After the movie, Anna, Larry and I walked to 9 de Julio through "mid-town" (it really reminds me of mid-town Manhatten) and made our way to Cafe Tortoni, a very old restaurant with pictures of people like Borges (Argentine writer), Gardel (tanguero), and others, including a photo of Hillary Clinton and Susan Sarandon (not together). It was great walking through the busy center of Buenos Aires on a crisp evening - the fog and the new chill in the air added a new element to the experience. I was expecting to see chestnuts being roasted on the sidewalk, but instead people were doing something with peanuts (maybe candied peanuts?)
I'm having a blast and definitely can see coming back for more. I don't think I'd like it in the summer when it is hot - right now seems like the perfect time to be here.
Mmmm...someone is cooking dinner (it's 10:30 at night) - making me hungry.
No comments:
Post a Comment